


My nemesis

by creampuffsunite



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Happy Ending, and they're roommates, kind of?, laura is a hero and carmilla is a villain, superhero au, who are secretly in love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-10-05 14:13:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10310039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creampuffsunite/pseuds/creampuffsunite
Summary: I saw a tumblr post a while ago about a superhero and a villain that are roommates and they come home all beaten and bloody and neither of them know that they're fighting each other. Also they're secretly in love with each other. This is my version of that.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on a tumblr post (and a web series) that I did not write and am taking no credit for, but if you want to follow me or send me an ask about my works you can find me under the name of holtzzybaby.

After a particularly difficult night of crime fighting Laura’s favorite thing to do was take a nice hot bath. It calmed both her aching muscles, and her mind. Today she was recovering from the bruised she got yesterday as well as the continuing suffering caused by being in love with your ever elusive roommate. 

From the minute the met Laura knew Carmilla was going to be a difficult roommate. She took the chance because the apartment was in such a good location and the room was so much nicer than the other ones she looked at. Plus Carmilla may be a bit of a troublemaker, but she was respectful and generally a good roommate. So what if she occasionally snuck off in the middle of the night, or left a half-drank protein shake on the counter. It wasn’t like Laura didn’t disappear sometimes herself. Crime doesn’t wait for you to finish breakfast, as she had once said to a trusted friend.

When she got back tonight Carmilla wasn’t home. If she was she would have noticed all the bruises and cuts on her shoulders. Laura always changed back into her normal clothes before returning home, but it wasn’t always enough. Carm had already caught her trying to sneak in a dozen times, and you can only blame it on krav maga classes every so often. 

Sometimes she wondered if Carmilla really believed her. She certainly didn't believe every lie she was told. But what other explanation could there be? No one wants to believe their roommate is out there fighting crime every night, or even, fighting heros. 

Once Laura had settled into the tub she heard the door slam shut. Carmilla. She must have known that Laura was already home, or she would never make such an entrance. Laura decided it was best to stay put. If Carmilla was in a bad mood the last thing she wanted was for Laura to come looking to comfort her, though she had to admit she wanted to.

She hadn’t always been in love with Carmilla, and if she were to be honest she never planned to be. Laura was perfectly content with her life now, and knew that when she was ready she could find a girlfriend. Falling for Carmilla came out of nowhere. She has started to be really nice. And not to everyone, just to her. She bought her groceries, the kind she knew Laura liked. She even would make her dinner sometimes. And she would go out of her way to invite her to movies or events she knew they would both enjoy. Laura started to feel special to Carmilla and she knew that she often would go out to meet women but it always felt different when it was her.

Of course she didn’t think that Carmilla felt the same way. She simply thought it was because Laura was her roommate, or because she thought she was lonely. Laura had always been sheltered as a child and though she was a great student and very likable she had never made many friends. Maybe Carmilla felt bad for her.

Whatever her reasoning was, Laura fell in love with all of it. 

Once she had decided that Carmilla must have gone into her room to decompress she settled back down into the tub, dreaming of finally defeating her nemesis. She had put up a good fight tonight, but Laura knew that she would win eventually. Good always wins.

But then she heard a crash from the living room and she knew something was up with Carmilla. She quickly sat up and wrapped a towel around her midsection. She knew if she went out there she would drip soapy water everywhere, but she couldn’t relax if she wasn’t sure that Carmilla was okay.

She opened the door slowly, just in case it was an intruder. This way she still had the element of surprise. She was small and innocent looking but she could pack a mean punch and they would never see it coming. 

It wasn’t an intruder though, it was Carmilla. And she was bleeding. 

“Carm!” Laura exclaimed. It wasn’t like Carmilla never came home like this, after all she had a tendency to get into fights, or as she told Laura, go to kickboxing classes. This was different though. She was beaten and bruised, and bleeding all over the rug. “Carm what happened? Are you okay?”

“Just peachy, cutie.” She said, trying her best to stand up, but only falling more. She had on a black coat that covered most of her body. Laura wondered how bad it was underneath. “I just had… a bit of a tough night.”

“Did you get into a fight at the bar again? You know they’re gonna kick you out one of these nights.” Laura said. SHe was concerned about how much blood she was losing, but she seemed very adamant that Laura not touch her. Especially not her coat. 

“You don’t look much better creampuff. Those are definitely new bruises on your legs. And besides you only takes bubble baths when you feel like shit.”

Laura suddenly remembered that she was only wearing a towel. If Carmilla weren’t lying on the floor bleeding everywhere she would have felt more self conscious. 

“Well come on, you’re bleeding all over the place at least let me help you get cleaned up.” Laura said.

“Are you willing to donate your towel?” Carmilla asked with a sly smile on her face. 

“Are you willing to promise not to look?” Laura asked. Only Carmilla could flirt this much as she’s lying beaten on the floor. “You can just give me your coat instead. You’ll need to take it of-”

“No.” Carmilla was acting very strange. She was never one to refuse to take off her clothing, especially when she knew it would make Laura flustered. 

“Carmilla i can’t help you if i can’t see how bad it is.”

“I can’t take off the jacket.”

“I’m really worried about how much blood you’re losing. Is it getting to your head? You have to take it off Carmilla. Don’t make me wrestle it off of you. It’ll only hurt more.”

Carmilla groaned. She wasn’t sure if it was in pain or in annoyance. Then, a moment later she said “Okay fine. You can take it off but Laura, you have to promise me it won’t change anything. Okay? Promise me.”

“Carm- Okay, fine, I promise. I just want to help you.” Laura had no idea what could possibly be under the coat but she knew there was nothing that could change her opinion on Carmilla. A very annoying side effect of being in love with someone. 

Except that apparently there was something that could change her opinion. As she helped Carmilla pull the sleeves off her black and blue arms she started to see what Carmilla was so adamant about protecting. It was a uniform. And not just any uniform. It was her nemesis’s uniform.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter would have been posted yesterday because I had the entire thing done when I posted chapter 1 but I decided that I didn't like it and re-wrote the entire thing so... here ya go!

Laura looked as if she had seen a ghost. Carmella knew she had to have recognized the colors of her latex jumpsuit. Her alter ego was well known throughout the town. Even if Laura had never left the apartment she had to have known who she really was. 

And yet Laura didn't say anything. She only continued to remove the jacket Carmilla had put on so she could get home without being recognized. Normally she would have changed completely but tonight she was particularly sore and didn't want to get blood on any more of her clothes. She hated doing laundry as it was and could only ask Laura for help when there weren’t blood stains. 

“Laura-” Carmilla wanted to say something, to explain herself but Laura wouldn’t let her. 

“Don't… say anything.” Laura said. “Please just… not yet.” 

Carmilla never intended for Laura to find out about this part of her life. The town saw her as a villain, and your roommate should never have to realize that she’s living with the most hated person in town. Especially not when you're secretly in love with said roommate and only want her to see the best in you. 

She knew that she wasn’t going to be able to keep this up forever. Every day she was closer and closer to getting caught. Getting caught means getting arrested. And getting arrested means her reputation and her life is ruined, but more importantly it means that she’ll lose Laura forever. 

“Let’s get you into the bathroom.” Laura said. “I have a first aid kit. And I need to put on some sort of clothes if we’re going to do this.” She pulled Carmilla up slowly, careful not to hurt either of them any more. 

Once Carmilla was settled atop the counter Laura disappeared into her closet and returned shortly after in a tshirt and pajama shorts. Carmilla missed seeing her in the towel, but she knew this was not the time to tell her that.

Laura spoke very little while she patched up Carmilla. Her face remained largely expressionless, though Carmilla did her best to try and guess what she might be thinking. MInd reading wasn’t her superpower, though sometimes she wished it was. While super strength helped out quite a bit with fighting, it did nothing to help her relationship skills. 

“Laura please we have to talk about this. I know… you know.” Carmilla said. “You have to say something. Anything. Are you surprised? Are you mad?”

“Carmilla please, of course I’m surprised! And I am mad. Really quite angry actually but not for the reasons that you’re thinking. You know it’s actually kind of funny though. This whole thing is funny in a really annoying sort of way. Because I can’t be mad at you for not telling me. I really can’t because it’s not like I haven’t been lying too. Yes I recognized the outfit. But not from TV. Carm I recognize it because…” She stopped almost as if she was trying to stop herself from what she was going to inevitably say. “You don't really think I got all of these bruises from krav maga classes? You don’t think it's weird that I came home with bruises on the same nights as you? That I always do. I don’t know why it took you literally bleeding out on your own goddamn rug for us to figure this out. I mean we live together! We do everything together! And I- and you- Carm, I recognized the suit because… I’m your nemesis. And you’re… mine.”

Carmilla felt like time had stopped but her thoughts had jumped into overdrive. Suddenly every late night, every bruise, every cut, every cancelled dinner and abandoned snack made sense. She couldn’t think of what to say. Laura was a superhero. And not just any hero. The hero she's spent the last few months fighting. The one that gave her the bruises and cuts she was currently suffering from. Laura did that. And the bruises around Laura neck and the ones on her legs, Carmilla did that to her. 

It was almost too much. Clearly Laura had figured it out first and that's what caused her to be so silent this whole time. Laura was definitely right about one thing though. The whole thing was kind of hilarious. In a screwed up sort of way. In the moment there was really only one thing that Carmilla could say.

“You… literally pushed me off the side of a building tonight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again if you want to follow me on tumblr you can find me at holzzybaby


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So as you can tell I generally write really short chapters. I really love the cliff hanger aspect, plus with my schedule being able to write and post a small chapter every day is really the best. 
> 
> This chapter is kinda angsty just to warn you. It picks up right where we left off and honestly isn't at all what the first draft was but its a lot better because it offers a lot of insight into the characters and it is a little bit longer than the other chapters. I really like it so I hope you do too!

“You threw me into a window!” Laura protested, stepping farther away from the counter so that there was a good distance between them. The extra space made her feel more alone but it also calmed her. She needed the space to think about what she wanted to say and how she wanted to say it. “And just last week I got hit by a car because of you!” She continued. 

“Don’t act like I did it on purpose!” Carmilla exclaimed. “We were fighting Laura! That’s what enemies do! You can’t take it personally, it’s not like I knew it was you!” 

“Would that have stopped you?”

The room was silent for a second while Carmilla realized what Laura was saying. 

“Would it have stopped me? Laura of course it would! What kind of monster do you think I am?” 

“I don’t know.” Laura said slowly. She could no longer look Carmilla in the eye. It was like she was looking at a different person suddenly. Which is exactly why Carmilla had never wanted her to find out. And Laura’s sudden revelation has only made it harder. But Laura wasn’t done breaking her heart just yet. “Maybe I don’t really know who you are.” she added.

“Are you hearing yourself right now?” Carmilla was so shocked she could hardly form sentences. “You and I are the same.” She said. “You think because the whole town sees me as a villain that I'm out there causing trouble because I want to be bad? That I want to be evil? I’ve always seen myself as a vigilante- just like you. Maybe I don’t follow all the laws but you don’t either.” Carmilla was livid. How could Laura be so hypocritical? She lowered her voice. She could no longer yell at Laura. It had been such a long day and all she wanted to do was go to sleep and forget that all of this happened. But she couldn’t. “If you really think that I could ever do anything to hurt you, then maybe you don’t know who I am.”

Carmilla hopped off the counter, slowly because she didn’t want anything to hurt even more. Laura didn’t say anything as she walked out, though Carmilla could hear her starting to cry. Carmilla had to keep walking because she didn’t want Laura crying to change her mind. She was really angry with her and she knew that if she saw her crying she wouldn’t be able to stay angry. She had always had such a soft spot for Laura but especially when she was vulnerable. 

Laura on the other hand felt terrible. She knew she had treated Carmilla unfairly but she couldn’t help but feel somewhat betrayed. This morning they were roommates, friends, maybe even something more. Tonight they were enemies. And though she wanted to say that they shared the blame for that, she feared she made a big mistake by questioning Carm’s intentions. She had never done anything that would lead her to believe that she was untrustworthy. Well, except for this. But was Carm really in the wrong here? Laura wasn't sure. 

It was just bothering her that she couldn’t wrap her head around the idea of Carm being a villain. She was slightly arrogant maybe. A bit selfish on occasion. And maybe she was sort of mean sometimes, but she was always kind when it counted. Especially to Laura. The special treatment she gave her was one of the reasons she fell in love with her. 

“And now I may have ruined everything.” Laura said to herself. She drained the bathtub, no longer in the mood to relax. She took some ibuprofen to help with the pain instead and headed off to bed. There was no use trying to apologize to Carm now. She needed the time to think about what happened tonight, and Laura did too. 

She knew that she would have a hard time sleeping but that just gave her more time to come up with a way to get Carmilla to forgive her, that also resulted in the two of them permanently getting over their differences.

And they really did have a lot of differences but Laura didn't think it was anything they couldn't resolve. 

Laura was a journalist for a women's magazine. They published everything from fashion to health. It wasn't the type of magazine that produced hard-hitting journalism but Laura preferred to stay away from the number one source of news in this town- her alter ego. 

Carmilla was the manager at a local book store. She read almost all of the books that came in whether they were used or new. She liked to know that they were categorized correctly and she trusted no one to do it but herself. 

Then there were the obvious differences in their personalities. 

Laura was very optimistic. She always sought to see the best in people, but she recognized that sometimes people can't be saved. 

That's why she became a journalist- and a superhero. She wanted to be able to help people that the system couldn't save, or wouldn't. 

Laura was adopted by Sherman Hollis at age 6. She remembered very little about her life before, but her father had been very quick to tell her that she was better off not knowing. 

“There are things in this world that we should never have to experience Laura.” He'd say. “And as your father my job is to protect you from as many of those things as I can.” 

He didn't know that Laura was a superhero obviously. He didn't even know that she could fly. She assumed it was something she inherited from her birth parents, and she never did more research on it, fearing that she would find something she didn’t want to know. In today's society superpowers weren't unheard of, but they were definitely still uncommon. 

But regardless of her powers, her father's words had really impacted Laura. Not everyone had someone to look out for them like she did. Laura decided that she would be that person for as many people as she could. 

At first she just wanted to help people with her words. She would write stories about eating healthy, and how to stay mentally fit, but also about self-defense and how to spot abusive relationships. She felt good about that for a while but she knew she wasn't getting to everyone. And that way her Krav Maga skills, and her ability to fly were going completely unnoticed. 

This a superhero was born. 

Carmilla had followed a different path. Growing up her mother was very strict, and very intolerant. The only people Carmilla had been allowed to associate with were the ones that her mother said. Because they were wealthy and Carmilla was in line to inherit her mother's company beside her brother and sister, she was forced to do the activities her mother chose for her, and do them well. Carmilla became well versed in half a dozen languages before the age of 12. Her mother also made sure that she knew how to play multiple instruments. She said that her daughter needed to be impressive, especially if she were to attract a husband.

Carmilla of course, wanted none of this. As a teenager she conspired with her siblings to run away and start a new life together, as far away from their mother as they could. But her brother Will had turned on them, siding with their mother and exposing their plan to run away. Mattie had chosen to submit and stayed, while Carmilla took off. 

She had never seen her mother again, though she missed her siblings dearly, especially her sister Mattie. While it had been Carmilla’s plan to run away it was Mattie that had come up with all the details. Alone, Carmilla had no idea where to go, or how to find shelter and food. She struggled for a while, eventually finally finding a job as a waitress in a small suburb of Silas. It was there that she saw first hand how horrible life could really be. She learned that she hated the way society treated those who didn’t fit the mold. 

She never intended to become a vigilante, let alone a supervillain, but when she discovered her super strength she knew she had to use it for something, and since vigilantes were not unheard of in Silas she wouldn’t be the only one. It was a dangerous gig, one her mother would never have let her do, and that’s exactly why she wanted to. It was the first time that Carmilla got to choose what she wanted to do, and she loved it. 

Carmilla remained cynical and detached in her personal life. She slept around and partied with the college kids, changing jobs on a whim. She liked to keep it interesting, always picking jobs her mother would have turned her nose at. That’s how she ended up working for the local book store. Her mother found retail work to be dull and conventional. She had always expected Carmilla to be extraordinary and Carmilla resented everything her mother stood for.

Carmilla had never met someone as kind and forgiving as Laura. When she had posted the ad about finding a roommate Carmilla didn’t really know what she expected to find. Most of the people that applied were just off in some way. And then there was Laura. She was sweet and shy but had a fire in her eyes that Carmilla just couldn’t place. She knew immediately that they wouldn’t always get along. But she also knew that she could love this girl. And she had never felt that before. 

Laura was wary at first, but Carmilla soon grew on her. She was a good roommate and Laura had really needed to get out of the place she was in. Her roommate before Carmilla was kind of overbearing and Laura had just gotten out of that living with her father she didn’t think she needed that again. So Carmilla seemed like the perfect choice. And so far, she was.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So sorry that this one took me so long! I went back to school this week and had a million assignments on my hands all of a sudden, and my mom just bought a new house so I'm helping her move out while also trying to figure out how I can live there part of the time. ANYWAY, I struggled writing this just because I didn't want to rush their reconciliation but I also didn't want to stretch out the angst too much. But it is a longer chapter, if that makes up for it. Sorry in advance for the cliffhanger.

Carmilla hardly slept that night. The pain from the fight coupled with arguing with Laura was enough to keep her up for hours at a time. 

It seemed as if Laura had gone straight to bed after she left the room, though Carmilla was sure that wasn't the case.

Laura was never so brash, so rude. She had never hurt Carmilla like that. In fact no one had hurt her so much since she left home. 

Part of that was because she never let anyone get close enough to hurt her, and part of it was because she wasn't easily hurt.

But the worst part was that Laura may have had a point. Carmilla took risks, she broke laws, broke promises, broke hearts. Laura had every reason to see the worst in her. She just thought, somehow, that she would be able to see past all of that. All Carmilla had ever wanted was for someone to see the real her, and she wanted that someone to be Laura. 

They need to have a real discussion about it if they were going to stay roommates. And since Carmilla wanted so much more than that, she knew she couldn't let her go over something like this. 

Carmilla kept thinking that Laura would burst into her room with some long-winded apology and homemade cookies that she would probably just throw at her. Laura was the kind of person that brought you flowers or made you cookies when you were sad. Carmilla had seen her do it countless times for her friends. For Carmilla she very often just gave her space. But Carmilla didn't want space she just wanted her Laura back. She was willing to do whatever it took for them to move past this. 

She was going to give up her suit, that much she was sure of. There was nothing in the world that could make her risk hurting Laura again. She didn't expect Laura to do the same but she hoped that she would. She didn't like the idea of Laura being in danger every night. 

Carmilla didn't know why Laura had become a superhero. Based on what she did know about her she couldn't think of a reason for why she would want to be, but apparently she didn't know as much about Laura as she thought she did. 

When Carmilla walked into the kitchen Laura wasn’t there. In fact it looked like she hadn’t been there at all. Laura never skipped breakfast. She was always the one that stressed how important it was. Carmilla was the one that took a swig of soy milk and walked out the door. 

It felt wrong to sit in the kitchen without Laura so she decided to skip it and go to work early. If she got hungry an hour from now she knew she could always buy a muffin from the bakery next to the bookstore. The only problem that might come from that was that the bakery was one of Laura’s favorite places. It was actually where they met.

There was a community bulletin board where people placed ads for various things that they were looking for. Carmilla had decided to post an ad there even though she knew it would attract some interesting people. And it certainly did but after 4 days of being up there she went back to the bakery and noticed Laura looking at it. Her first impression was that she was cute. Not cute like a puppy cute, but cute like “I wouldn’t mind biting your neck” kind of way. 

Once Carmilla spoke to her she expected to feel differently. But she didn’t. Laura was like a bright light in that bakery, and she was the same in Carmilla’s life.

She was happy to throw herself into her work. Her mind could easily wander in a bookstore, but when a new shipment of books came in she was too busy unloading and shelving to notice. 

Laura spent the day in her office, debating whether or not to write an anonymous article about being the vigilante. As a journalist for the magazine no one would ever find out who had written it, she’d make sure of that. Maybe if she gave it up she could make things right with Carm. But if it didn’t help her situation with Carm and she gave it up anyway she lost everything. She’d have to move to a new city, start a new life. She could probably get a job somewhere else but the idea of leaving Silas scared the hell out of her. 

She had lived in Silas nearly her entire life. It was the only life she had ever known. She traveled quite a bit in college, visiting Paris and Moscow and Reykjavik, and New York. But she never liked to be away from home for more than a few weeks. 

Right now all she wanted to do was run away and take a vacation. But she knew that it would only make her return harder. What would she say to Carmilla when she came back? I’m sorry that i accused you of trying to hurt me and then fled the country so I wouldn’t have to apologize? But also I’m in love with you and I never want to be away from you for that long ever again?

She was torn. 

She needed Carmilla to forgive her but she needed to forgive herself first. Her relationship with Carmilla was important to her. Most of the time people grew close to their roommates. Living in close proximity with someone often does that, but Laura had never had that connection in college. She was still close friends with the people she lived with in college but when they graduated she made no attempt to move in with them again. Perry and LaFontaine had moved in together, as they all expected they would, and Laura didn’t really want to feel like a third wheel. She was an adult, she could find her own place. 

Except then she couldn’t. She found a job but had trouble finding a place. She begrudgingly moved back in with her dad for about a year. She loved her father, and she loved being able to spend more time with him but when the opportunity came about to move out she took it without a second thought. An old friend from college had recently posted on Facebook about needing a new roommate. Laura hadn’t spoken to her since they graduated but they had almost dated so she figured they could live together well enough. And Danny was certainly very generous and accommodating, and Laura loved the place. It was right down the street from her office, and had a wonderful bathtub, perfect for all those late night soaks. But she soon realized that Danny was as overbearing as her father. Laura had to be especially careful about coming home with cuts and bruises because Danny would threaten to hurt whoever she had gotten into a fight with. She even told Laura that she had to stop doing whatever it was that she was doing. That’s when Laura decided to move out. 

She only looked around for a week before she found Carmilla’s ad. Something about it just stood out to her. Carmilla approached her as she was looking at the ad in the bakery. As soon as she saw her sense and reason fled her mind. Carmilla was so hot she didn’t even know how to talk to her. She almost decided to pass on the apartment because she wasn’t sure that she would ever be able to live with someone that hot and not look like a fool. But Carmilla was a mystery. She was attractive but she was elusive, and reserved. She loved to read and spent most of her free time by herself. She never went out on dates, never brought anyone home, though they both knew that she wasn’t celibate. The amount of girls that recognized her when they went out was more girls than Laura even knew. Carmilla never paid them any attention though. It was like she didn’t want Laura to know about that part of her. She wanted Laura to think that she was good. And she did think that. So why couldn’t she tell her that?

 

Laura left work early, telling her boss she’d be out working on a lead. She hated to lie to her boss, but she needed to talk to Carmilla and she couldn’t wait. Besides, she figured if she did write that anonymous article about being a vigilante her boss would be thrilled for weeks regardless of what Laura produced. 

She was probably still at work but it was later in the afternoon she she didn’t suspect it would be too busy there. In general the bookstore was never very busy, the product of ebooks and major retail competition, but they did pretty well with the bakery next door. 

Laura practically ran from her office to the bookstore. It was only a few blocks, and she had run much farther, but it felt like a lot longer this time. She was visibly winded when she arrived at the front door, and her hair was clearly a mess, but none of that really mattered to her.

Carmilla was right inside the door, when the door chimed as it opened, she turned around. 

“Cupcake.” Carmilla looked surprised. Laura almost never visited her at work. Once she had learned of what she liked, Carmilla always brought books home for Laura. She loved all of them, not just because Carmilla gave them to her, but because Carmilla knew what she liked. 

“I need to talk to you.” Laura said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I've never mentioned this before, I don't have a beta I just write in google docs so it catches most of my mistakes but not all of them so I'm sorry if there are parts that don't make sense. Really am sorry about the cliffhanger but I promise chapter 5 is already started!


End file.
